Derrick Harmon
Derrick Harmon
Derrick Harmon didn’t overwhelm on the stat sheet last week, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t play a strong game. In all, he finished with three tackles, all of them run stops against Bijan and Brian Robinson. While he drew a defensive holding call, let’s just say Pittsburgh wasn’t a big fan of last week’s officiating crew.
Great team run defense here but Yahya Black and Derrick Harmon specifically stout at the POA.
Bijan Robinson's 83 rushing yards are the fewest he's had in the NFL on 20+ carries. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/67DBXYTkhV
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) September 14, 2026
New Steelers DL coach Domata Peko, however, is a big fan of Derrick Harmon. “He’s a guy that has a very high ceiling”, he told Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I’m really happy with what he’s done so far. We’ve been working on just being more consistent, but he shows it on tape. He’s one of our hardest workers out there”.
The Steelers’ first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Harmon had a tumultuous rookie year. His mother passed the day he was drafted, which, though not unexpected, was devastating and life-changing. Beyond the personal loss, he also battled injuries, which cost him five games. With all that, he still finished with 27 tackles and 3 sacks, adding another sack in the playoffs.
Harmon had a great offseason, drawing praise from both his coaches and teammates. In the opener, he helped the Steelers largely keep Bijan Robinson contained on the ground. Though he leaked out on occasion as a receiver, the defense managed to hold him to four yards per carry. Harmon personally contributed two tackles against him, producing negative plays for the Falcons’ offense.
“What I love about him he can play heavy on the run game”, Peko said of Harmon. “He’s solid against the run and then he’s elusive. He can get after the passer with speed to power, and he can get to the edges on guys. He’s already been showing us in practice he can … be an elite finisher”.
Calling Harmon “as special guy”, Peko also said that he is “excited to continue to unlock some of his elite traits”.
Those elite traits, including both his strength and his quickness, are what made Harmon a first-round pick. And he has shown that, but as Peko mentioned, the next step is working on his consistency. Staying healthy will help, too, but as of now, we can only assume last year was an aberration.
The Steelers are relying on Derrck Harmon as the future face of the defensive line. While Cam Heyward is still going strong, he may only have one or two seasons left. Odds are, by the end of his rookie contract, the responsibility for leading the group into the future will fall on Harmon’s shoulders.
Having at least two or three years learning from Heyward should serve him well on that front. In the same article, Harmon talked about being more open with his teammates this year, including about his personal life. He cited both Heywards—younger brother Connor now with the Raiders—for being big brothers to him, relating to him for having also lost a parent at a relatively young age. Football has been a good way to channel that, both on and off the field.